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R Haughton James House

Other Name The Iris House Location 82 Molesworth Street,, KEW VIC 3101 - Property No B6014 File Number B6014 Level Regional

[1/1] B6014 R Haughton James House

Statement of Significance

The two storeyed R Haughton James House was designed in 1956 by the noted architect and author, Robin Boyd, partner in the firm of architects, Grounds Romberg and Boyd and built in 1957 by Clissolds Pty Ltd. The house is distinguished by an unusual eye-shaped plan of living spaces on the ground floor, surmounted by a rectilinear entry and bedroom wing on the first floor. Built for the well-known Melbourne industrial designer, advertising executive and art critic, this house represents one of Boyd's most graphic attempts to resolve the "rational" versus the "organic", a much discussed design issue of the 1950s. On a steeply sloping river bank site, this house attempts to resolve the ground hugging hemicycle houses of Frank Lloyd with the simplified forms of the International Style, in particular, the houses designed by the American architect, Philip Johnson.
Classified: 27/10/1988